


Four Different People

by Chephirah95



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Son of Batman (2014), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Bruce Wayne Tries At Parenting, Dysfunctional Family, Family Drama, Hurt No Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 04:51:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18336548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chephirah95/pseuds/Chephirah95
Summary: Bruce is in the cave updating files on his sons when he realizes just how different they all are and how he's managed to misunderstand each one. How he's failed each one.





	Four Different People

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short one-shot of Bruce's perspective on his sons. For those wondering about Drowning Underwater I have NOT abandoned it. My laptop crashed and I don't want to risk not being able to save additional chapters to that story. I also don't want to accidentally delete it either. I've written so much already.

I know I shouldn’t be categorizing my boys like this. Alfred would be disappointed in me if he knew I was doing it. When it comes to my sons he nearly always is. They aren’t the same. None of them are. The idea is so simple that it’s jarring. It’s the one thing that every half-way decent parent knows. That none of their children are the same. Theoretically I know that. Have always known that. But seeing it typed out in front of me is something entirely different. Hindsight is more than 50/50. It’s clarity realized too late. Too late for me to do anything about it. Too late for me to make any real difference.

Dick is a natural born leader. One of the few born with it. Smart enough to assess the situation, empathetic enough to understand both sides, and charismatic enough to secure a compromise. It would be a disservice if I blamed his departure solely on his natural proclivity to lead. Dick was a well-behaved child. But we butted heads on a lot of things. I’m stubborn where Dick is passionate. He was never going to be content with staying in my shadow. I tried to give him an outlet for his abilitied with the Titans, but even that wasn’t enough. Dick was growing into his own man and nothing could have stopped it. 

Jason, my wayward son. No wonder he was so upset with me. “A good soldier.” That’s the best I came up with and I was wrong. Jason was never a soldier. When I found him he was a fighter. All drive and no real purpose beyond survival. After several months of intense training and an established mission, he became a warrior. The same drive. Only this time with purpose. He rarely ever followed my orders like they were given to him. And somehow I thought “a good soldier” was a fitting description. I’m determined where Jason is fierce. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving him a purpose to focus his anger on, but it wasn’t enough. Jason has always had his own moral compass. His own sense of right and wrong. Justice and injustice. I should have known months of living with me wouldn’t be enough to replace the years of education he got on the streets. 

Tim. Tim is a soldier. A good one too. Of all my sons he thinks like me the most. Efficient and thorough. Bogged down by so many details, protocols, schematics, and intel. So much energy focused on the task at hand. Never stopping until each case is finished. Each objective is met. Tim is the ultimate soldier. But he wasn’t always a soldier. He used to be a student. Always watching, waiting, and keeping track. Of everything. Then spending hour after hour, night after night, poring over his findings and reaching accurate conclusions. I’m paranoid where Tim is wary. I thought allowing him to be over WE would curb his never-ending desire to learn. To study. To figure things out. But it wasn’t enough. Tim is smart. A genius. He could never be content with just running things like he’s told. He needs to make it better. He needs to truly control it. I shouldn’t have been surprised when he stopped taking my advice and started giving out his own. It’s always been how he is. Study. Observe. Compile. Analyze. Upgrade. 

Damian. My youngest. My only biological child. The hardest one for me to connect to. He used to be a soldier. Fighting in his mother’s and grandfather’s war. Weighing acceptance with every task he excelled in. Basing his self-worth on missions being successfully completed. After being branded a traitor by how own mother, Damian became a fighter. He has no purpose. But he’s full of drive. And anger. I’m driven where he’s vengeful. All of that fierce hurt and nothing fulfilling enough to make it seem worth it to pour it into. He’s not like my other sons. Dick fought first to avenge his parents and later on because he understood the crusade. Jason first fought to simply live and later on because he believed that some people were worth saving. Tim first fought to protect me from myself and later on to protect Gotham from those who made Batman necessary to exist. Damian first fought because he was taught it was expected, but now... now he has no purpose. He’s still trying to find himself. He the most self-assured boy I’ve ever met, while also being one of the most insecure. He doesn’t know how he fits yet. So for now, he’s just fighting. Anything and everyone. 

All four of my sons. Dick the leader. Jason the warrior. Tim the soldier. Damian the fighter. All so passionate and stubborn. All with their own personally-crafted strengths and weaknesses. All with their talents and short-comings. Four boys. Four very different boys who I’ve managed to fail in turns. Each uniquely damaged by my own ineptness at fatherhood. Dick who I pushed away. Jason who I replaced. Tim who I overlooked. Damian who I doubted. It’s never too late to reflect on your mistakes, but it is too late to change them.


End file.
